Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 210"
COURSE NAME: "Introduction to Poetry and Poetics"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring Semester 2012

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Egan Moira
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 19:00-20:15
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS:
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 110 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS: MW 16:30-17:30 and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

What is poetry?

Coleridge said that it was “the best words in their best order.” Wordsworth described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” Even more mysteriously, Emily Dickinson said this: "If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?"

This class focuses on discovery in poetry: discovering how poetry is different from other literary genres; discovering how a poet builds a poem using meter, rhyme, figurative language, and other techniques to put “the best words in their best order”; discovering how a poem produces a particular emotional effect in its reader (you).

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Having established the basic critical understanding to allow the student to analyze poems, we will examine works that treat the major poetic themes (Love, Death, Loss, War, Nature, Self, Joy, etc.) We will read poems from various time periods to discover how different poets treat similar themes, taking into consideration historical and social context as well as the influences of the poets who have come before.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The student will learn how to understand a poem on a critical level (responding to meter, rhyme, figurative language, rhetorical structures, poetic form, etc.) and to assess how the poetic techniques employed create the desired emotional and/or intellectual effect in the reader.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
Poetry: A Pocket Anthology (Penguin Academics Series), 7th Edition	R. S. Gwynn	Longman	ISBN-13: 978-0-205-10198-6

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
class participation and presentations		20%
one close-reading midterm test		20%
three analytical response papers, 5-7 pp., 20% each		60%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:

JCU's Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C, D, and F

A: Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.

B: This is a highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised. There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluate theory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture and reference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.

C: This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

D: This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material. Important information is omitted and irrelevant points are included. In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.

F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Two absences are excused, no questions asked. Each subsequent absence will cause the final grade to be lowered by 5 points. Two late arrivals count as one absence, so plan to arrive to class on time. Five absences will result in a failing grade for the class.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

English 210: Introduction to Poetry & Poetics Spring 2012

Professor Egan [email protected] John Cabot University

Week	Day	Class focus	Poems (page numbers from Poetry: A Pocket Anthology, unless otherwise noted)	ß Other assignments
1	M 1/16	Introductions: book; class; what is poetry?	Ferlinghetti, “A Coney Island of the Mind, #15,” 252, Wordsworth, “Nuns Fret Not,” 104.
1	W 1/18	What is poetry, cont’d. “Guided tour” of the book.	Heaney, “Digging,” 325; Rich, “Diving into the Wreck,” 298; Wordsworth, “Nuns Fret Not,” 104.	ß read pp. 1-18 of intro; be prepared for mini-quiz
2	M 1/23	Metaphor	Wilbur, “The Writer,” 258; Collins, “Litany,” 333; Donne, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” 73.	ß read pp. 18-34 of intro; be prepared for mini-quiz
2	W 1/25	More on metaphor	Stevens, “The Snow Man,” 194; Bishop, “The Fish,” 239; Plath, “Metaphors,” 309.	ß read pp. 35-44 of intro; be prepared for mini-quiz. Check out Voices & Visions on Stevens
3	M 1/30	Rhythm, rhyme, sonic effects	Owen, “Dulce Et Decorum Est,” 222; Cullen, “Incident,” 232; Clifton, “Homage to my hips” 317.
3	W 2/1	Rhythm, rhyme, sonic effects	Pope, from “An Essay on Criticism,” 90-91; Brooks, “We Real Cool,” 252; Hughes, “The Weary Blues,” 230.	V&V Hughes
3	F 2/3 make-up April 9	Childhood	Hayden, “Those Winter Sundays,” 243; Roethke, “My Papa’s Waltz,” 238; Olds, “The One Girl…” 345	ß read pp. 45-54 on “Writing About Poetry.” Paper #1 proposal due
4	M 2/6	Self & identity	Whitman, from “Song of Myself” (sections 1, 5, 6), 150; Cardiff, “Combing,” 338; Pound, “Portrait d’une Femme,” 202	V&V Whitman
4	W 2/8	Dramatic monologue	Browning, “My Last Duchess,” 144; Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” 213.	V&V Eliot
5	M 2/13 © Week	Theme: love	Barrett Browning, “How Do I Love Thee,” 127; Dickinson, “Wild nights,” 164 // cummings, “somewhere I have never traveled,gladly beyond,” 225	Paper 1 due V&V Dickinson
5	W 2/15	More on love	Wilbur, “For C.,” 257-8; Pound, “The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter,” 203-4; Bishop, “The Shampoo,” 242	V&V Bishop;
6	M 2/20	Form: sonnet	Keats, “Bright Star,” 121; Wroth, “In this strange labyrinth,” 76; Yeats, “Leda and the Swan,” 176
6	W 2/22	More sonnets	Poe, “Sonnet: To Science,” 135; Shakespeare, “Sonnet 116: Let me not,” 67 // Shakespeare, “Sonnet , 130: My mistress’ eyes,” 68	V&V Frost
7	M 2/27	midterm	week:
7	W 2/29	Close	Reading Assignments
8	M 3/5	War	Hardy, “Channel Firing,” 166-67; Sassoon, “Dreamers,” 207; Salter, “Welcome to Hiroshima,” 390-1.	Paper #2 proposal due
8	W 3/7	More war	Yeats, “The Second Coming,” 178; Shomer, “Women Bathing at Bergen-Belsen,” 351-2; Komunyakaa, “Facing It,” 362-3.
8	F 3/9 make-up April 25	Love meets war (cynical love; love gone south J Happy Friday.	Drayton, “Idea: Sonnet 61,” 64; Addonizio, “Sonnenizio on a Line from Drayton,” 388; Andrews, “Primping in the Rearview Mirror,” 393 and just for fun, Stallings, “First Love: A Quiz,” 405.
9	M 3/12	Nature	Dickinson, “A Narrow Fellow,” 161-2; Hopkins, “Pied Beauty,” 170; Tennyson, “The Eagle,” 136;	V&V Dickinson
9	W 3/14	A Little More Nature	Anonymous, “Western Wind,” 57; Shakespeare, “When Daisies Pied,” 68-9; Coleridge, “Work Without Hope,” 115.
Break	**
10	M 3/26	God	Donne, “Holy Sonnet 14,” 72; Herbert, “Easter Wings,” 78; Eliot, “Journey of the Magi,” 212-13; Fenton, “God, a Poem,” 366-7.
10	W 3/28	Family	Stuart, “Discovering My Daughter,” 322; Voigt, “Daughter,” 348; Hardy, “Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?” 165-6; Larkin, “This Be the Verse,” 261.	Paper 2 due
11	M 4/2	It’s spring: let’s get Romantic	Wordsworth, “Ode: Intimations of Immortality,” 104-110; Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind,” 117-20
11	W 4/4	Romanticism cont’d	Coleridge, “Kubla Khan,” 113-14; Byron, “Stanzas,” 116; Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale,” 123-125
12	M 4/9 holiday	**	**
12	W 4/11	Faith & loss thereof	Arnold, “Dover Beach,” 157-8; Hecht, “The Dover Bitch,” 267; Frost, “Acquainted with the Night,” 184	Paper #3 proposal due
12	M 4/16	Elegies	Jonson, “On My First Son,” 75; Dickinson, “After great pain,” 158-9; O’Hara, “The Day Lady Died,” 280-1	Watch YouTube video from “Four Weddings and a Funeral”
13	W 4/18	Death	Dickinson, “Because I could not stop for Death,” 159; Stevens, “The Emperor of Ice-Cream,” Plath, “Daddy,” 306-8	V&V Plath
13	M 4/23	One Art: the villanelle	Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle,” 246; Bishop, “One Art,” 241-2	Paper 3 due Listen to Thomas on youtube (link listed on iPoetry)
14	W 4/25 holiday	**	**
14	4/28-5/4	Finals week
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